Clear Sky

by Patrick G. Laplante

  “Another way to classify talent is in terms of mentality, or mental toughness. Those who persevere can reach the heavens, while those who do not will never amount to anything! I will give you an example. I myself am thirty-six years old this year. What level do you all think my innate cultivation talent is?”

  Elder Huang looked around at the silent audience. Every once in a while, a student would throw out a guess, anywhere between third grade and fifth grade. After several attempts, Elder Huang continued.

  “My innate cultivation talent is only first grade! My normal cultivation speed would dictate that it should take me fifty-six years to reach the peak of qi condensation. Not only that, my chances of reaching foundation establishment and becoming an elder were a hundred times less than those with third-grade talents. Oh, how life is unfair!

  “However, Heaven never bars all paths. In my first month of cultivation, I worked very hard, yet I did not manage to reach the second level of qi condensation. I did manual labor to earn enough contribution points to purchase a single mortal-grade-one movement technique and a single mortal-grade-three combat technique. I increased my physical strength through body cultivation by training eight hours each day, and at night I cultivated instead of sleeping. This was all while providing for my three younger siblings so they could have three meals a day.

  “Finally, this very day twenty years ago, I participated in my very first monthly arena battle, where this very event was held for all first-year students. I was very motivated to win the reward—not only would I gain cultivation resources, but I would not have to worry about providing for my siblings for months.

  “Back then, there were over fifteen hundred other students registered in the tournament. I persevered through the first-round battle royale, which eliminated all but sixteen of us. Only one out of every one hundred passed the first round! Through sheer determination, I continued on and won second place. Alas, I didn’t get the 100 spirit stone reward. I continued to work myself to the bone, and year after year I pushed myself to do everything I could to earn spirit stones, contribution points, and medicinal pills to boost my cultivation.

  “Finally, on the very last day of my fifth year, I attempted to break through foundation establishment. Can you guess what happened? I failed! I graduated with a ninth level of qi condensation, and I was employed by the sect as a protector for the younger generation. For fifteen years, I struggled and failed to achieve foundation establishment many tens of times. A few months ago, I finally managed to achieve foundation establishment and became an elder of the academy. It was the happiest moment of my life! In the past five decades, I was the first grade-one talent to accomplish this feat! I had realized early on after winning second place in this very tournament that above all, I would need hard work and determination; my efforts have all paid off.

  “As such, I wish to remind you all—this is not just a day to evaluate cultivation talent. It is the day to separate both the talented and the hardworking from the lazy and inferior. It is a day to test yourself and your resolve. You’re not talented? Fine! Work harder! You don’t measure up? Work harder! Remember that the toughest and wittiest among you will win those one hundred spirit stones, and that those winners truly deserve this fortune. Let that motivate you to work harder and reach new heights.”

  After finishing, Elder Huang looked around, proudly beaming at the new students.

  What a motivating speech, thought Cha Ming. Normally I don’t get impressed by these kinds of speeches, but he even has me a little bit riled up. This was a testament to Elder Huang’s charisma.

  Following this grand speech, Elder Huang explained the rules of the arena battles. For the majority of the students present, the arena battles would be split among the various levels of qi condensation. At the lower levels, the number of participants could number around 500–2,000, far too many to adjudicate. As such, each tier would participate in a battle royale until sixteen students remained. There would be another four elimination rounds, after which a final winner would emerge, and the students would obtain their respective prizes.

  While the students could injure each other, killing and crippling each other was strictly forbidden. In either case, the guilty student would be expelled on the spot. In between each round, each student was allowed a full hour of rest while the other participants from other tiers held their respective battles. Talismans and magical items within certain limitations were allowed beyond the fourth level of qi condensation. These items were considered a part of each participant’s respective strength and would take away some advantages from wealthier families for lower-level students. At this point, children of the noble families would start to gain a distinctive advantage over others, as their wealth could finally be demonstrated.

  Defeat could take place in a variety of ways. The first way was if a participant lost consciousness. In this case, they would be escorted off the stage by an adjudicator. Falling off the stage would also eliminate a participant. There were two stages, one large and one small, with the larger stage being utilized for elimination battles.

  Finally, a student could give up. By giving up and sitting down, a student would be eliminated, and participants were prohibited from attacking. In one-on-one battles, simply saying “I admit defeat” was also sufficient.

  The first round for the first level of qi condensation began a half hour after the elder finished explaining the rules. The group battle continued for about an hour, after which sixteen bloodied students made their way off the stage to recuperate. Off to the side, many older wood- and water-element students and teachers acted as medics and gave emergency treatment to injured students.

  Much to Cha Ming’s surprise, the second level of qi condensation was skipped, as well as the third, which contained only twelve students. The fourth through seventh-level preliminaries were then completed. This wasn’t to say that there were no eighth- and ninth-level students present, it’s just that they were too few. Their rewards for winning were larger, and so students still participated in the monthly battles.

  Finally, students at the second level of qi condensation were called to the stage. While they were not the most talented and as such were not the main event, talent was best combined with hard work. In terms of rewards, students at the third level were considered to have two wins, and the final winner could obtain the five victories necessary for their reward of 1,000 spirit stones. This level was currently beyond Cha Ming’s reach, so he put it out of his mind.

  Cha Ming proceeded to the stage along with the other hundred or so students. He had chosen to be near the corner. While he would be in a vulnerable position compared to the students closer to the center, he would not be surrounded on all sides.

  “Begin!” shouted Elder Huang from the side of the stage. A few older students were ready on the side, waiting to retrieve students who resigned.

  As soon as the match started, a good ten figures darted off toward their nearest opponents. These were the impatient ones—they figured that eliminating opponents early would bloody the waters and cause the wounded to be targeted by others, all the while intimidating other nearby students. While not a bad strategy, it put them at a disadvantage in terms of stamina compared to the others on the stage. Cha Ming continued to observe everyone.

  Finally, someone close to him decided to feel him out with a hard iron fist. His fist was clearly reinforced with metal element energy, and Cha Ming realized that facing it head on would likely propel him off the stage. He immediately responded with his movement technique, Ghost Steps. It was an ideal counter to brute-force techniques like this. Maximum result for minimum effort. The student’s momentum was redirected, and the punch continued off the stage.

  Looking around, Cha Ming noticed that another eight or so students had also either accidentally leapt off the stage or had been pushed off by strong techniques. He began to walk around cautiously while thinking and looking for a target. After a few breaths, he noticed that one of the students near him was bein
g attacked constantly by low-level flares, all the while bringing up earthen walls, one after another.

  Cha Ming waited for the ideal moment and formed some quick hand seals—vines instantly grew out of the surrounding stone and grabbed the steadily defending student’s feet. The quick entanglement paused his defense, and the attacking student was able to quickly knock him off the stage. He gave a nod to the attacking student, who shot him a grin—this was an elimination game, right? Why not wash, rinse, and repeat? Together they used the same tactic and eliminated another four students, after which the surrounding students became more vigilant.

  After fifteen minutes of intense fighting, they were now down to twenty students; four more students would need to be eliminated before the next round. Cha Ming knew he couldn’t use the same tactic anymore—he was out of wood qi, and he needed to keep as much of his other qi in reserve as possible in case he was attacked. Looking around, he noticed that one of the participants was closer to the center of the stage. He was far from intact, but his wounds kept quickly regenerating. An armor of bark also covered him, making it difficult for the surrounding students to justify wasting stamina on attacking him.

  He walked toward this student slowly—no need to rush, these kinds of skills would quickly drain stamina. When he was roughly three feet away, he noticed a metal spike heading swiftly toward his shoulder—while this spike wouldn’t kill him, it could severely injure someone. He once again used his Ghost Steps and his body wrapped around the metal spike, redirecting it slightly toward the nearby regenerating student. The spike seemed to ignore his wooden armor, piercing his leg. Cha Ming swiftly unleashed five consecutive slashes with his Finger Slash technique, once again penetrating the youth’s defenses, after which he quickly shouted, “I give up!” A shadow flashed in front of him, and the student was whisked away to a nearby medic.

  In the time it took for him to deal with that student, another three were eliminated, after which Elder Huang called the battle to a halt. The remaining students had passed the first round and would get one hour to rest. The first-level students would now fight their individual second-round matches, followed by the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth stages respectively. The third-level students would finish the second round off with four group battles; each group of three would fight until one student was eliminated from each group.

  Looking up at the audience, Cha Ming spotted Hong Xin near the top stands, waving a banner that read “Handsome Cha Ming, go go go!” Beads of sweat began to form on his brow, and Cha Ming thought about how his name sounded an awful lot like the word “charming” in English.

  After calming down, he sat down to meditate and recover his depleted qi pools. He’d gotten a chance to practice two out of his five elements, and while he would have liked to practice the others, he decided to hold back the other three until he had to reveal them. It never hurt to keep a few aces up your sleeve.

  Chapter 9: Second Level, First Place

  Cha Ming was standing on a rough gray stone stage. This stone stage was substantially smaller than the previous stage used for the group battle. It was about a hundred feet on each side, a perfect square. Despite having been baked by the sun all morning, it was still pleasant and cool to the touch.

  His opponent in the second round was called Tu Sheng. Tu Sheng was the kind of man who wore his heart on his sleeve. Cha Ming truly had no idea how this sort of man had made it so far through the elimination rounds. While most people had been sitting and recovering their stamina, Tu Sheng was busy talking about how great it was to meet so many new friends. He then proceeded to tell everyone about his abilities and specialties. Perhaps everyone had clued in to his disposition and decided to pick on someone else, giving the whole group of remaining people higher odds in proceeding to the next round.

  Earth users were typically defense oriented, and Cha Ming’s read on Tu Sheng—supplemented by the vast amount of information he willingly divulged—was that the large burly man was a go-big-or-go-home sort of guy. Accordingly, Cha Ming decided to drain away at his opponent’s stamina by using a few sword fingers mixed in with his basic fist technique.

  The sword fingers, while they looked impressive, were really a low-consumption harassment technique. Tu Sheng’s goal was clearly to tire Cha Ming out by continuously defending his attacks. How could he possibly know that Cha Ming’s techniques consumed very little qi? Conversely, Tu Sheng’s techniques were mid-range as far as qi consumption went. In addition, the techniques tended to slow him down quite a bit. He soon noticed that every time Tu Sheng cast a defensive earth spell, he would slow down drastically for a whole second. That was perfect.

  Cha Ming first provoked Tu Sheng’s defense with a sword finger and grinned as he formed hand seals, sprouting vines and entrapping Tu Sheng when his movement was the slowest. This took Tu Sheng completely by surprise—metal and wood were a very unique combination because most who cultivated metal would rather not cultivate wood since they could not be able combine their techniques very efficiently. He cursed under his breath, and after Cha Ming hit him with a few fists, he finally broke free of the vines. He had clearly lost in that exchange.

  Cha Ming repeated the same tactic multiple times until his opponent finally ran out of qi. The fellow was really a hopeless case, and he was unable to adapt to the situation before finally admitting defeat.

  “He is way too fortunate to be able to cultivate a dual element,” said one girl.

  Another nearby girl started mocking her. “How fortunate is that? What a rubbish combination of elements to cultivate! You can’t combine these elements properly as a qi refiner, and most students wouldn’t even bother to split their attention!” she said smugly.

  After being mocked by the other students, the girl quickly quieted down. This was common knowledge, and even the academy did not facilitate this kind of cultivation technique past bronze grade. Perhaps they assumed Cha Ming had decided to bite off more than he could chew and was choosing to cultivate incompatible elements.

  Naturally Cha Ming didn’t take it to heart. These were, after all, just a bunch of teenagers. What kind of adult would lower himself to bickering with teenagers? He did not bother to defend himself and let the criticism wash over him.

  Over in the elders’ seating, one of the teachers asked, “Is that… the student who decided to cultivate five elements?”

  Another teacher beside him nodded. “I was present when Elder Wang was administering the test. The student is quite a good seedling and has an absurdly high soul force. Regrettably, he decided to pick a dead-end path.” The teacher sighed.

  “But I didn’t even see him using more than metal and wood. Did he decide to ditch the cultivation techniques he picked and cultivate something else?” asked the same teacher.

  The teacher beside him, who was a little more experienced, shook his head and said, “He shouldn’t have switched. If you had a high innate soul talent and had a choice to pick two elements, how could you cultivate a combination so worthless as metal and wood? At the very least he could have also cultivated fire as a third element, but it’s still suboptimal, despite the flexibility in choosing professions. Allied elements make much more sense, so water as a third element would be a distinct possibility. Who knows, maybe he has his heart set on being a spirit doctor.”

  The next fight began as the chatter continued, and the other seven matches in the second level finished. Fights of this level were very interesting because the students barely had enough time to cultivate. Who knew what kind of mistakes they would make while picking techniques? These students had no combat experience, and they would take a while to improve. It was very similar to watching little kids chase each other around, only to have one of them trip on a tree branch and sprain their ankle. Taking pleasure in others’ misfortunes had always been a popular form of entertainment.

  There were a few noteworthy battles among the second-level students. The fiery youth that had cooperated with Cha Ming in the prelimin
aries was named Feng Ming. He finished his battle very quickly through a combination of fierce, overwhelming, and accurate moves. He cultivated a fire-based movement technique, a low-level fire technique for feinting, and a higher-level fire attacking technique to finish off his opponents.

  Another interesting character was a girl named Gong Lan. She seemed to win by effortlessly weaving around her opponent, who soon became enraged and charged at her, only to be caught and thrown off the stage. She received loud applause from the male students since she was quite good looking.

  An hour passed by, and soon it was Cha Ming’s turn once again. This time he was matched up against Gong Lan, and he knew she would be a rather tricky opponent. They stepped on the stage and bowed before awaiting the command to start the match. Gong Lan winked at him right before Elder Huang yelled, “Fight!” Cha Ming resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, and they began to circle each other.

  Gong Lan walked in the opposite direction of Cha Ming, advancing when he advanced, backing off as he backed off. They moved in a perfect circle, which kept growing and shrinking. When he reversed, she changed her direction as well, like a mirror to his movements. Since the battle wasn’t progressing, he took the opportunity to inspect her good-looking figure. Her hairstyle was quite unusual, a bob-style haircut that was extremely short on the back and chin-length on the front. One side was longer than the other and drooped across one eye; the other, shorter side was pinned back with a white-and-blue pin. The pin perfectly matched her white tai chi uniform with a blue embroidered front.

  Judging by her movements and dress style, she clearly practiced a soft-style martial art; Cha Ming would need to take the initiative. He was especially wary of her movement technique, which he had witnessed her use when she threw an opponent off the stage. Cha Ming started off by advancing and sending out a few jabs with his left hand. In response, Gong Lan began to weave around him with a water-element movement technique, maneuvering him to the edge of the stage.